The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-10-01
a SAVAGE BALLET. -
Motley MuItitudes and Barbarous FESTIVE
ties in the City of Tangier.

Motley NIuItitudes and Barbarous FESTIVE
ties in the City of Tangier.
The feast of Mohammed's birthday
has recently taken place here, and, in
deed, it took place rather unexpectedly.
The prophets birth was on the ninth day
of the month of Mould, and it IS the Gus
tom to begin the celebration on the first
day of the month and keepit up for ten
DAYS. Now, the Mohammedan month
is the lunar month, and it is the duty of
the Bashaw, or Governor, to proclaim
the beginning of Mould when he, or
some solid citizen in whom he has con-
fidence, has seen the young moon. This
year. acting on uncertain information,
the Bashaw started the festivities a day
or rather night-ahead of time.
During all this period, preliminary to
the celebration of the 9th. the country
people are fiocking into Tangier, COM
ing generally by villages, or if from
greater distances by ''kabyles" or
tribes, and they are to be seen coming
along the beach in crowds composed OF
men mounted on horses or mules, or
riding side-saddle on small dOnkeys, or
on foot and all carrying guns, generally
long flint-lOcks of Moorish make. and
with these many women, some with
babies slung over their shoulders.
Where all the people slept do not know;
there were many tents on the market
place, and you could see men sleeping
in the streets at night, but the majority
must have gone back distance into
the country at nightfall. In the day.
time this crowd was very interesting to
watch. The different tribes have dis
tinguishing marks. For instance, the
Riff men shave all the head except
the space above and behind the right
ear, where they wear a tuft or cue.
Others leave tuft on top, and SO on.
These countrymen are the descendants
Of the barbarians, the Ph9nicians,
Greeks and Romans found here, and
are not of the race of their conquerors,
the Arabs. That there has not been
much admixture of blood is apparent in
their features and color, which, though
sun-darkened, is uniform in the race,
and has not shades from white to black,
which marriage with negro slaves have
generated among the Arabs.
residents have tents put up at the head
of the slope and invite their friends to
witness the performance. The view
from one of these tents, where | was,
was very striking. In the foreground
a dense moving crowd; dark noun
taineers, with their long guns and their
arsenals of pistols and daggers; women
shrouded in coarse sacking, exposing
only an eye and a bit of nose to
view; grave, bearded Moors in white
haiks, as they call the vast white folds
they put over their other raiment and
turban; Jews in their long gaberdines;
in the middle distance the town of Tan
gter, its white cube of houses rising
Exc a pile of chiId'C blocks, to the Kas-
bah or citadel. and in the distance the
blue entrance to the Mediterranean,
Bounded by the Spa nish hills, and thirty
miles off, the rock of Gibraltar, show
ing clearly against the eastern sky. The
indul,g in much powder
play, constant discharges, sometimes |
80 near that as the guns are discharged |
Ola the ground the gravel is blown into
ones face.
One savage ballet I noticed; about
twenty of these ruffians, divided into
two platoons, face each other, and at
toe sound of pipe and drum dance for
ward and back, passing through each
others lines, brardishing their guns
high in the air, until at point in the
dance when one platoon gives a wild
Shrek, reversing the muzzles of the
ssns to the grourSA, and giving 81
rnultaneous leap in the air, they fire off
their guns all together. Then this
platoon runs off to an attendant who
stands by with an open bag of powder
to reload, and its place is taken in the
@ance by fresh troop. l saw this
5hing kept up for an hour, to the in
tense delight of performers and audi
'uce. The feet and legs of some of the
were bleeding from wounds
~ade by careless discharge of guns,
pat this was quite disregarded. Gen
orally some eyes are put out and some
'Tes lost by explosions in these cele-
6rations. -Tangier Cor. Boston Tran
ItY1pt.